Virtual course growth very real

North Carolina's virtual high school is surging in popularity, broadening opportunities for students in the state's far reaches to control how, where and what they learn.

This fall, more than 15,000 students are taking classes online through the N.C. Virtual Public School, up from 8,800 last spring. Administrators expect to enroll 20,000 students in spring classes.

Online instruction has become even more important this year, because tight school budgets have led to disappearing high school courses. In some districts, online courses have helped blunt the impact of budget cuts, allowing students to take classes their districts can no longer afford.

The program can give children in Burgaw and Indian Trail some of the same opportunities as students in the big-city districts of Raleigh and Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Tyler May of Benson is studying advanced European history, even though West Johnston High School doesn't offer it.

Through online instruction, the high school senior is conversational in German. Now he's learning Russian from a teacher somewhere in North Carolina's 910 area code.

May said he's good at "solo learning" -- he studied Latin on his own a few years ago. And the online classes have given him the chance to enroll in courses that he otherwise wouldn't be able to take.

"I personally learn better online," he said. "It's a more relaxed atmosphere. I can go over something I can't get or go ahead quicker if some text is particularly easy."

Advocates in the education world call distance learning the wave of the future, giving increasingly tech-savvy students the chance to take classes at their convenience. But budget questions linger about this new wave -- specifically, how the state will pay for it.

"We have all we can handle," said Bryan Setser, executive director of N.C. Virtual Public School and Learn and Earn Online. "The key now is to think about the future, how we grow smartly."

This year's budget is about $5.7 million for teachers, staff, and general operations. The school can also take up to $6million out of a state fund for school technology.

Boon for rural areas

Although the school offers standard courses such as biology and English, it is developing a niche in foreign languages that are difficult for individual districts to offer, such as Mandarin Chinese and Russian. Arabic is on the course list for next semester.

Rural districts tend to have the highest enrollments in the online courses. Johnston County is the biggest user in the Triangle, with 328 students now in online classes.

The bigger school districts are farther down on the enrollment list; 280 students from Wake public schools and 181 from Charlotte-Mecklenburg are enrolled in virtual public school courses this fall. The numbers don't include charter school students or those enrolled in yearlong classes.

Online courses have strengthened the offerings for students at small high schools, said Deborah Woodruff, Johnston schools' executive director of innovation and school improvement.

The idea behind online school is that students can learn anywhere they have a computer connection, including from home. Johnston requires students who take online classes to spend one class period each day in a computer laboratory where a teacher can monitor their progress and help with technical difficulties.

In a West Johnston County High School classroom loaded with computers for online class work, students use them in various ways -- to repeat courses they've failed, to take advanced high school classes, or to take college courses.

Zachary Lockard, a senior, wanted to go beyond the typical French and Spanish offered at his school. He is taking his third German class online. Oklahoma State University provides the German instruction, using video, sound files and worksheets.

"I'm a big fan of history," said May, who enrolled in online Advanced Placement Euro pean History. "It works really well on the Internet. It's a lot easier than a foreign language course."

Languages can be tricky to learn online, according to a report this year by the FridayInstitute on Educational Innovation.

When the report considered student satisfaction, foreign language students offered the least-flattering comparisons between courses taken online and in traditional classrooms, and said it was harder to succeed online because students want more time for conversation with the teacher.

To improve language instruction, Setser said, the school wants to have conversation coaches spend more time with students -- they're now under contract to work with them twice a week -- and has set up cultural cafes where students can speak to one another and work together online.

Though learning online serves diverse purposes, teachers and administrators warn that the method isn't for all students.

"It has to do with the children's learning style," said Woodruff, the Johnston County administrator. "You have some students who would rather be in front of the computer. Others need face-to-face instruction."

How to pay the bills

One of the biggest questions the virtual school faces is how the state will pay for it. The courses are free to districts, with the legislature picking up the cost.

The budget has not kept up with enrollment increases, and online teachers, who are paid per student, received less money this year.

The legislature has asked the State Board of Education to suggest a way to pay for online instruction. The board has considered different proposals, including charging local districts tuition.

The board hasn't given an answer. If it doesn't come up with a suggestion by a Dec. 15 deadline, the legislature has ordered the state controller to cut off the board's money.

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